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I'd say lookin' good but you look GREAT! What a transformation - I swear you shed years along with the pounds. I get so jealous when some people can do that! Happy for you - you truly look great and I know you're going to hit goal if you keep on going. It takes forever (trust me) but you can do it. Congrats on hitting a huge milestone! ~Cheri

Thanks for the kind words everyone. If he goes, he'll deploy to a combat zone, so nope, I'll be here with the kids while he's over there. It's part of the life. We'll manage. At least we're in the US now. Had this happened from Germany or Kyrgyzstan I would have a hard time seeing family and friends, but this way we're only nine hours from family. It may sound like a lot, but we used to be two days of travel away. Oregondaisy, I am going in for my crown tomorrow. My root canal was fine - no pain whatsoever. In fact, I fell asleep while the dentist was working! Then I went in a few weeks later to get a cast done and a temporary crown put in, and I'll finally have the finished one put in tomorrow. The worst part? Paying my share of the insurance. Yikes! My share was $1,600 for this one tooth! Laura, great reminder. I, too, have had my share of therapy and I often forget to just stop, focus and BREATHE. I'm a crazy planner - I have to have everything down on paper, I schedule and make lists for every task or goal...I just try to be on top of everything. It helps me feel more in control if I'm, well, a crazy control freak. But life can't be planned or predicted and I find myself at a total loss and completely off kilter whenever something unexpected crops up. So tonight, I'll try to just focus on breathing. Actually, DH and I have discussed a lot of our plans and how we'll handle things and I'm feeling a lot better. It's that control thing - I just need to feel like I'm okay with something and that I have all the bases covered. Is anyone else losing hair? It could be that I just spawned a little person, because I think I vaguely remember something about losing hair after pregnancy. It's been nearly four months, though. I am losing wookie sized hairballs each time I brush my hair or shower. I'm back on Nioxin and hoping it slows down, and fast. My hair never fully recovered from all those years overseas in countries with crummy Water, or the original weight loss. It's way thinner than it was when I was large and I'm a bit worried that I'll have bald Patches soon. Yeah, I'd rather be thin than have gorgeous hair, but I'd also rather not look like I'm suffering from an illness. I think it's almost thin enough that it's time to cut it and boy, won't that make the husband grumpy! Hope everyone is well. I have a few PMs to answer and then I'm off to bed. That little cutie still likes to wake me at a random time between 3:30-5:30 in the morning. I wish she'd pick a time and stick to it. While I'm wishing, couldn't she make that time seven am? ~Cheri

Did someone add Globetrotter? I've been meaning to PM her, anyway, and ask where the hell she's at. You can't go starting a 5:2 thread and then wander off!! ~Cheri

How's everyone doing this weekend? I did pretty good today. I had to post my 3 year update and it's been keeping me on track these past few weeks. Now that determination to see goal again is carrying me! I walked and walked and walked some more today. Then I came home and cooked dinner: sweet and sour chicken (from scratch, of course) and ate the chicken until I felt a little more full than I'd like. I dodged the rice - still hate that rice and what it does to me after three years. But I am still pretty darn low on calories so I'll need to do something else later. I'm too high for a fast day but too low for a normal day. I was at roughly 750 when I logged earlier. I'll fast tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't but DH won't be home for dinner so it'll be even easier than usual to just grab a Protein snack and go on about my business. It's easier to fast when I'm ready for it, too, so planning my tomorrow tonight will help me have my head in the right place when I wake up. We'll see what happens with the hubs. It's not a matter of if but when he'll go, so we should know more next week. I can't really complain. I mean, I can and I will. I'm a pro. But I shouldn't. We've been lucky the last ten years and he's only had one deployment, even if we've spent 6 weeks to 4 months apart several times. We'll manage. I just hate that it's happening now. As if I'd be happier at some other time, like it would be more convenient at a later date! Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. I'm okay. I didn't realize how insecure I'm feeling and how much of that is bleeding out into my every day but my husband pulled me aside today to tell me how great I'm doing (at everything - motherhood, the weight loss, managing the house, etc.) and how much he appreciates me. Apparently, I really needed it. I'm just amazed that after so many years of trying to be a better person and so many years of really improving myself in external and internal ways that I'm such a slave to insecurity and periods of really low self esteem. It's crazy. Bleh. I'm in a mood, clearly. I hope everyone else is doing better than me!! ~Cheri

Thanks for the ideas! I notice that the crotch/rise is either too high or too short on most things, so I'm willing to shop around a bit to find something that works. I can tailor most other things to get just the right fit (though I won't lie - I hate shelling out for that over and over again!) but that's one area that really needs to be perfect without alterations. If anyone is the D.C./NoVA area and needs super short clothes I do have some. I looked into shipping them before but it's just too expensive. I have a lot of 18/20, a very big lot of 14/16 and another good sized lot of 10/12 things. I also have a good sized lot of S/6-M/8 maternity clothes. I'll post on the clothing exchange, but in case anyone in my area and very short is looking for clothes I'm letting them go for a darn good price. ~Cheri

Hey fellow shorties! I'm gonna post a question that's probably OT but you're the ones that would know best! I'm having trouble shopping for pants. I am short (5'1" and some change) with a super short inseam (29" for heels) and a longer torso. What is UP with the rise on pants and jeans nowadays? Seriously - if I buy petite/short/x-short pants I find they have this teeny rise and while I'm not too concerned about muffin top, it's just not flattering AT ALL. I feel like everything gives me a mommy pooch. Anyway, any recommends for great brands that fit short gals? I can alter things and I've had to do that in the past (even for short inseams I usually have to hem) but the cost of that adds up over time. Just wondering what you guys do. I love that I can wear smaller pants but for goodness' sake I want them to be flattering. It means diddly-squat to wear small clothes if they don't look right! So maybe a brand that makes higher rises without looking like something fresh out of the eighties? No tiny Jordache pockets, acid wash or pegged pants, thank you. I don't care if my fifteen year old stepdaughter thinks it's cool...I know better. ~Cheri

Eight months?! Geez, girl, you're definitely going to fill out again. Just wait it out. I know what you mean about not recognizing your face, too. I never had a thin face (or less than two chins) so for the longest time I wouldn't recognize myself. My husband would walk in the room and see me just staring at the mirror and ask me what the heck I was doing. I was trying to find ME in there! ~Cheri

I think 5:2 could work for someone looking to jump start their loss again - ASSUMING that they'd fallen off the rails, were well over one year out and their normal diet is no longer working. This plan does not result in quick loss. It's a way to steadily shed those last few pounds you need to shed, or to jump start your loss and get back in the swing of things. We average 1-2 pounds a week, tops. And a few gals chugging along haven't lost even that much. So if your regular eating plan is helping you shed weight, albeit at a slow pace, now is not the time to do 5:2 - which is more like eating in maintenance, in my opinion. ~Cheri

You can absolutely overeat. You'll feel discomfort, then pain and eventually you'll sick up your food. You can eat normal foods after about a month, but not in large quantity. That changes within the first year or so. I eat whatever I want, within reason. But I make it a point not to overeat and not to eat pure garbage. My sleeve only keeps my portion down. It's certainly never going to keep me from gaining weight if I choose to eat the wrong foods or too much food. ~Cheri

Join us on the vet board and get some tips. You're also far enough out that you might consider 5:2 as a way to jumpstart your loss, assuming you've remained slow. It's not for anyone that's freshly sleeved but if you're petering out and having a slow loss already it might help keep you on track. I'm doing okay with it - I think I'll average about 1-2 pounds off per week but to me that's actually a pretty fast loss compared to before! PM me for details if you're interested or google it. And do join us on the vet board for some tips and inspiration to finish up and reach goal. Good luck! ~Cheri

Sounds like your surgeon is more experienced with bypass than sleeve. It also sounds like he needs a swift kick, to be honest! Your loss is right on par with a number of us. The entire notion that any part of weight loss can be simplified and generalized - the idea of one-size-fits-all - is ludicrous. It's laughable and it's patently false and we prove it's wrong here every day. There are as many paths to success here as individuals and we all lose at our own individual paces eating our own personal diets and dealing with our individual circumstances. Don't let that absurdity get you down. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll get there. I've several friends who had bypass and did great, but losing weight more quickly didn't help any and every one of them is struggling mightily in maintenance to stop the regain. Your pace doesn't matter one whit. It's how well you stick to the program that works for you and how determined you are to reach goal and stay there that matters. ~Cheri

I could talk about my own weight (as a larger girl) around women bigger than me and it never once occurred to me that I was talking about anyone but ME. I can see how easy this would be for someone to do if they're focused on themselves. I always held myself to a higher standard than anyone else. Bitching about my own weight at 250 pounds had nothing to do with how I felt about my friends that were larger. It's a shame that in our society women bond and find common ground in tearing themselves (and sometimes others) down - that we bond by lamenting muffin tops and jiggly thighs and the fact that our boobs aren't as fabulous as we'd like them to be. My body image issues started at age nine - well before I was a fat girl. In fact, they started back when I was the shortest and skinniest girl in my class and one comment from a catty girl ("You look pregnant in that outfit") started horrible insecurity in me. So yes - these women are being thoughtless and they hurt your feelings. It's inconsiderate and it's bordering on cruel - and it's probably the same way they've been treated and treated each other for their entire lives. Being a different way probably never occurred to anyone. They are likely just as insecure as you are, as ridiculous as it sounds. Because this is family I'd consider actually confronting the issue and telling them exactly how terrible it is and how it makes you feel - without making it sound as if you feel they were personally targeting you. Because they probably aren't. It is so easy as a fat girl to forget that being fat isn't the only thing that makes women uncomfortable or insecure. Seriously - I FORGET I'm not the fat girl anymore. But ALL women feel ugly or fat or unloveable at times and we are all kidding ourselves if we act like it's only okay to feel that way and to openly seek validation or compliments or reassurance if we're actually fat or have once been fat. I try to be careful about what I say now. I actually got chewed out by a woman the other day who was very overweight and complaining about her size and how people treat her. I commiserated about feeling that way at times and she gave me a glare and asked me what I knew about being judged for my size. EXCUSE ME?! Let us not make assumptions, here. And let us not jump from feeling mistreated and abused to doing it to other people, either. I whipped out my wallet with my engagement photos and quietly told her that I did understand, and quite well, and then I walked away. She has twice tried to engage me in conversation and I have no desire to talk to her. Why? Because I refuse to be judged for my size - now that I'm small - the same way I felt judged when I was larger. This post may have started out all in fun. And that's great, and we can all commiserate because we've all met that one annoying size 0 girl hell bent on getting a compliment out of her plus sized friends about how pretty she is because deep down, she hates herself even thought she's got a skinny ass. But it stops being funny when you stop treating people like people. It stops being funny when you group people according to appearance and assume they don't know what it's like to feel bad or even deserve to feel bad. I could apply that flawed logic to everything in my life that's been a bigger struggle than the person next to me. I could say, well, I've been fat AND I buried a child, so your complaints or feelings are invalid, shut up, I'd like to taser you. That's the point most of these serious voices are trying to get across here. Gemini started this post as a joke and we can all relate to what she was saying. She did nothing wrong by posting it here. But the thread has evolved into something else entirely. It's probably time to just let it die and move on. ~Cheri

Pick it up and keep moving! I'm three years out and have ten pounds to shed - there's nothing to stop us from reaching our goals but us. ~Cheri

Oh, and congrats on being our moderator, Laura. ~Cheri

I hope you can find a way to take your meds that won't cause an issue. I take mine with coffee or if I must, with a sip of milk. But antibiotics are tricky and the ones I was on in April would make me horribly sick if I didn't take them with at least a few crackers or something. I weighed this morning and I'm happy to report that I didn't destroy the scale, scream at the scale, cry when I saw the number on the scale or even kick the scale on the way out the door. I am not happy to report that I bounced - another TWO pounds over yesterday's weight. So the tally for the week so far = + 2 tenths of a pound. I chalk it up to mindless, drunken snacking last night and emotional eating. Calorie wise I think I logged in around 1,500 yesterday which isn't terrible for me and shouldn't have caused a gain. For now, I'll put the blame squarely on Water and stress. Husband came home from work yesterday with news of a pending deployment...not a happy evening for us, that's for sure. Follow that up with a night of poor sleep and it's actually not really surprising I bounced. I'm still not happy about it, though. Today is a normal day, and it's also a busy weekend. I think we'll do a museum tomorrow (gotta do the tourist thing with the stepkids) and pack a picnic lunch so I'll be in pretty good control tomorrow. But today we're hitting the mall and I'm taking my stepdaughters shopping for school clothes. Man. You know what I like to get at the mall? Soft pretzels. I can always make my own, sure, but being able to walk up and buy one already made is wonderful. Wonderfully tempting. That's okay, I'll avoid it today. It's not a forbidden food, no, but goodness knows I only need an excuse to fall of and start feeding my stress. I'm starting out with a Protein coffee and trying to get my sh*t together. The sun is shining (first time in days!) and I'm off to get the kids ready so we can head out. I hope everyone else is doing okay today. I'm feeling a little off, myself. ~Cheri

I had a brief period where I really had a problem. Right around a year or so, my capacity increased. I would continually take this to mean that I could actually finish that 2 oz of chicken breast I had carefully measured for my dinner. Not so. I was so determined to eat to my goals, instead of to my capacity, that I had a brief period of time where I'd sick up my last bite after a few meals each week. It happened again when I got pregnant. My capacity was larger - and I was almost entirely unable to eat meat and I'm already lactose intolerant. It's easy for me to go from four bites of rice to being sick. In my attempt to eat what foods I could eat, I'd get sick. I'd make a portion of Pasta or rice that was more comparable to what I'd eat if it were Protein. But I can't eat large quantities (or even small quantities, really) of those foods. They swell and I get sick if I eat just one bite too many. As for vomiting - emptying your stomach and being very sick - no, outside of morning sickness this has not happened. But those slimes that happen where you wind up yakking up that last bite? It's happened to me, yes. It's a matter of learning your capacity and remembering to be mindful as you eat. I was used to eating so quickly that the signal that I was full didn't have time to get to my brain before I was already overfull. ~Cheri

How far out are you? I can't remember. The change between one and two years post op was enormous. I looked different both in and out of my clothes. Between one year and two, I noticed my curves coming back. I didn't gain anything (in fact, I lost a bit) but my chest, hips and bottom rounded out, my saggy and soft parts started to look more smooth and less saggy. My face filled out again and I didn't look quite so tired and washed out all the time. Losing weight made me look older, I think. In just a year, people stopped guessing my age in the low twenties and starting realizing I was really in my low thirties. I didn't look bad - I just didn't have that round shiny face that made me look so much younger. But aside from that, I started to look more normal again, like I'd never had surgery and lost a bunch of weight once I'd settled at goal for a while. I think part of it is our perception, too, though. I spent years looking at a fat girl in the mirror. I was round cheeks and large curves and everything was to excess. How could I not feel flat, worn out and deflated seeing something else there? And in my case, as soon as I really got used to my reflection, I went and got pregnant. Now I'm relearning it all again. ~Cheri

Thank you for sharing your experience! It is all too easy when we're fresh out of surgery and hardly able to eat to feel invincible and as if we can conquer the world - that regains only happen to other people and of course, we're never, ever going to be those people. The reality is much more complex, as you've pointed out. Obesity is just as much about disordered eating as it is about quantity. And the sleeve only changes the quantity of food you can take in at one time. It doesn't change anything else that helped make a person obese in the first place. I hope that a lot of people, especially those researching surgery, come across this and view it as a reality check. The sleeve is not your miracle diet cure. On it's own it's only going to affect your ability to eat a cheeseburger or a pizza in a single sitting. If you do not work towards healthier, lifelong habits you will not maintain. Losing the weight isn't the hard part. Keeping the weight off is the hard part. Good luck on tackling that regain, and thanks again for posting your experience, ~Cheri

I wasn't diabetic for long (3 years) but the term my doc used was "remission" with the very clear message that it is likely to come back when I'm older - I was told to keep an eye out as I headed into my sixties. For me, that means thirty years where he doesn't think it'll be a factor. The last time I had insulin (or any medication) was shortly after surgery. Within days I was so much closer to a normal range (120-150) and within a few weeks I was normal again. Nowadays I don't move from 80-100 without a real sugar splurge to spike those numbers. At the very least you are going to see a reduction in the amount of medication you're taking. And it's entirely possible you'll also go into remission and stop meds altogether. I've only run across a couple of folks still taking medication at a year out from surgery. ~Cheri

Wait, you mean if I just weigh myself, get some exercise and eat a special diet I'll be skinny?! I swear the last nutritionist I saw knew less about diets than me. We discussed the fact that I'd had my metabolism tested and that I needed less than 1,200 calories a day to lose weight. Her suggestion? Eat the 1,200 calories (cause otherwise I'd "be in starvation mode"), but exercise enough to burn off an additional 600 calories a day so I'd have my deficit. Yeah. I'll get right on that. I paid for my own sleeve shortly after that. Worth every penny of the small monthly payment, I promise! ~Cheri

An extra shake will pad those calories - and now is a great time to opt for the "splurge" (as I call 'em) shakes like the BSN Syntha-6 ones. Higher in calories but man, just like a milkshake. It was too much for me in loss but I added them into my rotation when pregnant. I also have serious restriction - one hard boiled egg or one scrambled egg and a piece of turkey sausage and I'm stuffed. Carbs go down easier, of course. I'm still hard pressed to get 3 oz. of anything but chicken in a sauce down at one time. ~Cheri

Once you start on foods that trigger you, it's hard to stop. You need to go cold turkey, cut the addiction out and start over. Reevaluate what got you here. Were you leaning on food because you feel anxiety or fear now that you're shedding weight? Was there another reason that you opted to go off? Had you been thinking about those foods for a long time and then decided that you'd "earned" a splurge? Whatever it is, isolate the cause of this so that you can help avoid it again in the future. Sad truth: some people can do moderation and some cannot. My suggestion is to explore the triggers (emotional as well as from your food choices) and focus on the diet that has gotten you to this point before working into a more normal way of eating. Remember, normal for us was what made us obese enough to need surgery. You don't just shake that off because they snipped your stomach out! You have to find out the cause of this or at least how to avoid it. Otherwise you will have problems in maintenance, where it becomes even easier to slide off the rails entirely. Two days? No big deal. Go back to basics - drink at least 64 oz. of Water, eat your Protein and only fit in veggies, fruit and carbs after you've eaten enough protein. ~Cheri

Bumping this up. Why? Because I wrote it and I'm awesome. Nah, because I see the post op board is spammed up with stall posts again and I want to remind everyone that slow loss is STILL LOSS and that there isn't a time limit for success. So many great stories are in here already. I encourage new folks and those that haven't posted or shared here to share their stories as well to encourage people that are feeling down about their slower pace. My best to everyone! ~Cheri

This will be different for everyone. As you've seen in previous posts, a lot depends on your particular disordered eating. Many people have issues with trigger foods - white sugars, white flour, processed foods, soda, etc. - that make them want to keep eating and eating and eating until they're sick or until they step on a scale and realize they've put on ten pounds. This can happen at six months out, one year, two years, three years...it can happen whenever you stop being vigilant and doing whatever it is you need to do to stay on track. Many people mourn food and the thing they have used in the past to cope is food - so the first time things get tough they post about how they can't wait to eat a cheeseburger or the can't wait to eat with their families again. Food is coming up in the conversation, but the conversation isn't really about food, you know what I mean? A huge part of surgery is finding new ways to cope. Another part is finding a way to eat that leaves you feeling satisfied but doesn't lead you off the right path. There's a balance you have to find and it's different for everyone. If I'm not feeling emotional or hormonal, food does not impress me. I bake several days a week - my house smells like fresh bread, croissants and creamed butter with brown sugar (my favorite smell in the world) all the time. I also cook large meals for my family. We love food here. We eat, but we do it wisely (for the most part!) so there is no need for me to simply "X" off entire food groups and say I can't have them forever. For me, personally, crossing a food off is the best way to make it the most desirable food ever! I can't do deprivation or I binge and graze. That's my particular issue. For some people it's exactly the opposite. They can't do moderation because they cannot stop until it's gone. I'm this way about soda, of all things. So I get that and it's real and I don't keep much soda in my house these days. It's important to realize that we're all going to have to find our own path here. There isn't only one right answer. If it were that easy, none of us would be here. We'd have 100% of our stomachs and go to WW meetings. I only say that because every now and again we see flame wars erupt here because two people choose different ways to eat and they both think they're the only ones that are right. Glad to see all of the experiences shared here - I wish everyone success, even if we all take a different path to get there. ~Cheri

Correct! I'm lactose intolerant (no serious allergy in my case) and use hemp milk on occasion to mix, too. Whatever works and will help you get in the protein you need without tasting terrible is a good idea. ~Cheri